Letters to the Editor | Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018

Trade schools would lift many

It’s been 48 years since I graduated, and still trade schools have gotten no support for providing a path to a good living. If you are good at a trade, you can make a good living. A central trade school for school districts would be a big help. If you could sort through the homeless and get them trained, there are a ton of jobs out there that no one has been trained to do – 55,000 trucking jobs, 6.6 million skilled jobs nationwide. There is no shortage people, just people with access to learning skills.

I grew up in Pennsylvania and had a chance at a trade school in 10th grade. It changed my life. Trade schools should be a main focus, or at least an alternative, to college.

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I called the city, and it responded

I left a voice message for the city of Modesto tree service. A small branch had fallen from my recently pruned city tree, and was too big for me to handle. A nice man phoned that afternoon for more information and, holy surprise, the limb was gone in two hours. Good job! Thank you!

Barbara Moran, Modesto

Charities right here need our help

When you give cash or donations to a local charity or non-profit, your gift benefits those in need here, where it counts the most. Feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless is a recurring theme. The Modesto Salvation Army, Gospel Mission and Church in the Park all have websites where you can donate any sum you can afford.

Cash gives food banks more flexibility. Giving frozen turkeys sure helps, but giving cash is best for those groups providing hot meals. Food banks like Second Harvest and Loves Christian Church in Ceres have websites for easy giving. Donations from a debit or credit card are easy, and do the most good. By giving to local charities, many in our community will get the help they need.

Daniel Marsh, Modesto

Harder: Vote yes on carbon tax

Re “I once believed it was a hoax. I was wrong” (Page 8A, Nov. 27): Writer Max Boot and the Fourth National Climate Assessment are both right about the compelling evidence of man-made climate change and its devastating impacts, including more severe wildfires.

The bipartisan Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R. 7173 has just been introduced in the House. It would place a fee on fossil fuels at the point of extraction or import, and return all the money back to the American people through dividend checks. This effectively puts a price on CO2 emissions and lets the free market respond. Economists agree that market-based, technology-neutral policies are the most effective for reducing emissions.